Charlie 2 Report post Posted January 15, 2014 I will be coaching a 4-6 year old team this year and would like some feedback on the following:How many practices a week?How long should my practices be?How Many Plays do I plan on running?What should I spend the most amount of time on in Practice?Favorite Drill for this age group?Biggest Issue to Plan for?Thanks in advance for your input.Charlie Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hollad6636 0 Report post Posted January 17, 2014 Charlie,I will take a crack at answering some of your questions.In regards to practice I would look at have 2 practices per week and keep it to an hour maximum with that age group. I would look at running 4 or 5 plays. Keep it simple and go over and over the plays.Spend the majority of your time on flag pulling drills, running your plays over and over and setting up the defense that you are going to run. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Coach Rob 26 Report post Posted January 17, 2014 I will be coaching a 4-6 year old team this year and would like some feedback on the following: How many practices a week? It depends upon league, most leagues tell you how many you can have per week. The norm is one per week, but if you can squeeze in two and the parents are cool with it, I'd try that. How long should my practices be? I'd keep it to an hour like Schann suggested. How Many Plays do I plan on running? I'd keep that pretty simple with two formations and a few variations off those formations. I wouldn't get too caught up in running the triple flea flicker double reverse. It's more about good handoffs, running north/south and not stopping until you hear the whistle. What should I spend the most amount of time on in Practice? Schann pretty much hit it. Favorite Drill for this age group? Some version of sharks and minnows. Modified field, you have minnows running with the ball trying to get to the other end. Sharks in the middle pulling flags. Once flag is pulled, minnows become sharks. Biggest Issue to Plan for? They are 4-6 yr olds. This is a good thread to give you some tips:http://www.y-coach.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=2836&p=11517 Thanks in advance for your input. Charlie Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
macvolcan 0 Report post Posted January 17, 2014 I think Coach Rob covered this pretty good, but couple things to add:"How Many Plays do I plan on running?"As Coach Rob mentioned, keep it simple on players, I would go as far as only have 1 formation at this age group (personal preference, easier to focus on little things if they only have to remember 1 place to line up) and very few plays for them individually. Compartmentalize the assignments so they only have to worry about doing their piece, and I wouldn't give each kid more than 3-4 different assignments to memorize. If you are allowed to be in huddle make sure you have a visual reinforcement of what you want them to do (preferably color coded)."What should I spend the most amount of time on in Practice?"Fundamentals/execution (as mentioned above). Keep each drill short, with as little of standing in line and verbal instruction as possible. The more they are moving the more they are learning at that age. Have multiple drills ready, if it isn't working be flexible and move to next drill. "Organized Chaos". If it all possible get help so you can keep groups small and wait time between reps at a minimum. If they are standing in line you will lose them."Favorite Drill for this age group?"Sharks and Minnows, Tag, scrimmage, pretty much any drill that they can learn something while having fun as you will keep them doing something positive and not thinking about something more exciting than your practice."Biggest Issue to Plan for?"Attention span of less than 3 seconds and spreading the ball around. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
